A North Carolina contractor is saving time and money by employing robots.
Don’t worry, the robots look less like Arnold Schwarzenegger and more like a normal lawnmower. And they aren’t made by Skynet, but rather by a company called Traxx RF.
But these mowers are remote-controlled and that’s been a business boon for Dixie Lawn Service, according to a report from WCNC TV. The company has begun deploying the robots for highway detail contracts maintaining interstates with contracts from both the North and South Carolina departments of transportation.
“We’ve taken our crews of say six crew members and we’ve cut them down to two,” Dixie Lawn Service’s Jimmy McHenry said. “Before we’ve had to put people with hand type equipment with a weedeater or a chainsaw and they’ll have to climb up the slope and cut that debris.”
The mowers, which cost between $75,000 and $80,000, are operated remotely up to 1,000 feet away, which keeps workers out of danger on steep inclines. And the mowers are keeping the crews safe in the hot summer months.
The robotic lawnmowers have increased Dixie Lawn Service’s efficiency by 25 percent and cut labor costs in half. Though, he said the younger workers take to the robots faster than the more season crew members.
“Typically a younger person is better at running this piece of equipment than an older person because they’re more computer savvy, they play more video games and things like that,” said McHenry.
